A tender picture showing an Italian man cradling his frail grandmother who has Alzheimer's has touched the hearts of thousands of people in just a few days.

Gianuluca Murisciano posted a picture on his Facebook page of him holding his 87-year-old grandmother Antonia in his arms on December 31, and since then it has received over 400,000 likes. It has also been shared 37,000 times.

In a caption that accompanies the picture Mr Murisciano writes that the moment was 'the best of my life' despite being heartbreakingly sad. His grandmother's condition is so bad, she often doesn't recognise her grandson, or mistakes him for his brother.

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Giancario Murisciano posted this picture of him cradling his 87-year-old grandmother who has Alzheimer's has touched the hearts of thousands of people in just a few days, receiving over 400,000 likes

Mr Murisciano goes on to write that he shared the picture 'without shame or fear' to remind people that 'life should always be lived'.

His message for 2015, he wrote, was that people 'always be present' and that they not only 'protect and comfort' those around them, but also keep them 'happy and smiling with us'.